General Motors Co's (GM) OnStar, a vehicle communication system, is at risk from hacking, according to a report from Wired.
Samy Kamkar, a researcher and hacker, posted a video on YouTube showing a device called OwnStar, which allows him to monitor and intercept the communication between GM's OnStar RemoteLink System and the vehicle equipped with the OnStar.
Wired reports that the OwnStar, a Wi-Fi hotspot device, allows Kamkar to locate the target vehicle, control the locks on its doors, sound the honk or alarm and start the engines.
"If I can intercept that communication, I can take full control and behave as the user indefinitely," Kamkar told Wired. "From then on I can geolocate your car, go up to it and unlock it, and use all the functionalities that the RemoteLink software offers."
Owners, though, of vehicles that have OnStar won't have to worry about Hackers driving off with their vehicle as that function still requires the driver's key.
They are, however, also vulnerable to getting their private information accessed.
Wired reported that all the data that is accessible through an OnStar account can be accessed by hackers. Data like, the user name, email, home address, and the last four digits of a credit card number and the expiration date, are all vulnerable to the hack.
Kamkar posted on his Twitter account that GM issued a fix, but it doesn't work.
He added that, after talking to them about it, they are "working on it now."
Reuters asked GM, via email, if using the app would be safe for drivers.
Terrence Rhadigan, a spokesperson for GM, told them that "the chances of replicating this demonstration in the real world are unlikely."
"The action involves one user at a time, and would impact only that specific user's account," he added.
In addition, the report also stated that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has already noticed the issue.
They have already made suggestions with GM, including disabling the app's functions until a fix can be made.
